RED HILL — The same basic speech has been heard many times over the years, but it has apparently not lost its effectiveness. It’s the one that comes when the Boyertown girls lacrosse team has gotten off to a sluggish start and coach Pam Wernersbach calls a time out and reminds her players that just because they are Boyertown it doesn’t mean that they’re going to roll all over everybody.

The latest recitation came midway through the first half of Monday night’s Pioneer Athletic Conference Final Four match against Upper Perkiomen with the Bears up my just a goal. Following the motivational talk, Boyertown scored seven of the eight goals the rest of the half and wound up with an 18-7 win at Upper Perk’s Tribe Stadium.

Haley Wentzel scored six goals for the Liberty Division champion Bears (13-0, 15-3), including three the rest of the first half after the timeout, and Hannah Jaskuta added five. Kayla Smith led the Frontier Division runner-up Indians (6-8, 8-11) with four scores. Boyertown will face Phoenixville, a 12-11 overtime winner over Spring-Ford, for the title on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Spring-Ford.

“We get that speech a lot,” said Wentzel, who also had two assists during the key run by the Bears. “We need to show up for every game. It’s not what we’ve done in the past. It’s what we’re doing now. We need to show up.”

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“Mondays are rough,” said Wernersbach. “Mondays are always rough for high school kids. I just needed a moment to rattle them a little bit and get them ready to play.”

Upper Perk, which lost to 10-time defending champion Boyertown by a 19-4 count during the regular season, scored first when the Bears turned the ball over and Kenzie Gebhart came down and notched her first of two on the night just 1:22 into the match.

Wentzel countered with two in a row and Rachael Shaw scored off a pass from Marie Valenti for a 3-1 advantage with 3:36 gone. But Smith notched two of the next three goals, cutting the Bear lead to 4-3 with 13:16 left in the half and prompting the timeout.

“We were just playing a little lazy and down, and we weren’t pumped up,” said Jaskuta. “’W’ (Wernersbach) tried to get us pumped up.”

Emma Morgan scored on a fast break off a pass from Wentzel a minute and a half later and then Wentzel scored one of her own on a break just 24 seconds after that. Then, after Smith tallied to make it 6-4, Jaskuta scored two in a row off passes from Wentzel and Grace McFadyen and assisted on a goal by McFadyen. Wentzel scored another on an assist from Valenti with 3:40 left until the break and then tallied off a free position with two seconds remaining for an 11-4 margin at the intermission.

“She’s been really good this year at using her speed and picking up the intensity for us,” Wernersbach said concerning Wentzel. “She and Marie (Valenti) are willing to do it and everybody follows.”

“Basically, I was just being aggressive toward the cage,” said Wentzel. “Obviously, my speed helps a lot. And my teammates know where I’m going to go. They were clearing out for me. It just worked out.”

Wentzel and Alicia Stratten scored early in the second half for a 13-4 Bear lead and Jaskuta added two more and Morgan and Statten another each the rest of the way to more than off-set Indian scores by Gebhart, Smith, and Maddie Fox.

“We have gotten to know each other’s tendencies,” said Jaskuta, whose previous career high had been three goals. “We play off each other’s tendencies … knowing when to get out of the way, knowing when to cut.”

“Hannah Jaskuta played well,” said Wernersbach. “When given the opportunity, she always seems to capitalize. She places her shots well.”

Upper Perk coach Susan Flack with thrilled with how her team battled the Bears, especially early in the contest.

“I love it,” she said. “But they have a very fast team. They have experience with seniors, and that’s tough. You’ve got a whole senior-laden team and I’ve got two seniors. They’ve been playing together. We’ve grown a lot as a team. I’m so pleased with how we played today.”

On the other hand, Wernersbach was happy with how her team finished after the sluggish start.

“We are a slow-starting team,” she added. “Honestly, it’s more important how we finish to keep winning games and moving on.”

NOTES

Boyertown held the Indians scoreless for over 21 minutes while increasing its lead from 6-4 to 13-4. … Upper Perk sophomore goalkeeper Regan McComb made three early saves to keep her team right in the game and finished with seven stops. … “She’s a great keeper,” said Flack. “I’m very happy with her.” … The Bears, who have now won 152 straight against PAC-10 opponents, will finish up their regular season league schedule on Tuesday with a make-up match at Perkiomen Valley.